Spill Resistant Bowl

ABSTRACT

A spill resistant bowl is provided having a lip to reduce a likelihood of contents spilling over a rim of the bowl. The bowl may include a base, wall, rim, lip, and optionally one or more handles. The lip may cover an opening at the top of the bowl to reduce a likelihood of spillage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S.nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 13/931,722 filed on Jun. 28,2013.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to dishware. More specifically, thepresent invention relates to spill resistant bowls.

BACKGROUND

The market for spill resistant bowls is quite large. Many variations ofbowls have been previously designed. However, the designs of theconventional bowl containers require similar unnecessary and complicatedmeasures to avert the spillage of food. For example, a person may use abowl to eat cereal with milk. The user may fill the bowl with the cerealand milk and begin to walk with it. The momentum combined with thestop-and-go pattern of footsteps may typically cause the liquid-basedcontents of the bowl to sway back and forth. The user must quicklycounteract this momentum in order to prevent the spillage of foodcontents over the rim of the bowl. If the user fails to counteract suchforces, the result will be cereal and milk spilling to the floor. Thisexample as also applicable to soup or other liquid-based contents. Theproblem may be especially prevalent with children and invalids.

Conventional bowl container designs lack a bowl that would resist suchspillage. Additionally, the conventional bowl designs lack a bowl thatmay be configured for single serving and is usable by children to carryfood with minimum spillage. Oftentimes, children are served food with aliquid in a conventional bowl. As the child walks with one of theconventional bowls, the contents of the bowl is often spilled.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,509, issued to Shepard, attempts to solve some ofthe deficiencies discussed above, however, due to the incomplete natureof Shepard' s solutions, it fails to solve the above-mentioned spillageproblems. Shepard only provides an interior bowl contained within anexterior bowl. The system used in Shepard's patent allows spillage fromthe interior bowl to fall into the exterior bowl and attempts to preventliquid contents from spilling to the floor. While the system of Shepardmay help reduce the amount of liquid spilling to the floor, it fails tosolve the problem of a liquid spilling in the first place. Here, thespilled food is still wasted. Additionally, using Shepard's proposedsolution, one must clean two bowls rather than simply cleaning one.Shepard fails to solve the deficiencies by providing a multiple bowlsystem that requires additional labor and does not reduce the amount ofwasted food. Additionally, users of the Shepard bowl will typicallycontinue to struggle with carrying the bowl from one location to anotherbecause of the slippery nature the sidewalls of this bowl.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,103, issued to Abernathy, also attempts to solve theproblems present in conventional bowls by using a smaller interior bowllocated within a larger exterior bowl. Abernathy fails to provide anacceptable solution for the same reasons as Shepard, discussed above.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,826, issued to Celaya, attempts to solve theproblems present in conventional bowls by providing a food bowl forindividual servings that is designed to allow a user to maximize thefood that is conserved from each serving. However, Celaya fails toaddress prevention of excess spillage and only addresses waste due toone's inability to successfully consume the food with appropriate eatingutensils. The configuration of Celaya also can increase the momentumthat causes spilling of food contents from within the bowl. Moreover,the upper rim of the Celaya bowl is still exposed and thus susceptibleto spillage. Additionally, the slippery nature of the sidewalls of thisbowl can make carrying of the bowl difficult.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,413,837 issued to Bollengier, attempts to solve theproblems of conventional bowl designs using a design having a singlebowl. However, the Bollengier bowl is not user-friendly. Additionally,since the bowl disclosed by Bollengier experiences a fair amount ofmomentum, the contents held within the bowl are likely to spill. Thespillage is due to the upper rim of the Bollengier bowl being exposed,thus allowing some contents to spill over and out of the bowl.Furthermore, Bollengier's proposed solution still does not solve theissue of making it easier for children, invalids, and others to carrythe bowl from one location to another. The bowl simply possesses a slickouter shell that most other bowls embody. This construction increasesthe likelihood that children and other users may drop the bowl and spillthe liquid-based contents included by the bowl.

What is needed is a bowl that effectively reduces or prevents spillageof liquid contents. What is needed is a bowl that is easy to handle andmove by a user. What is needed is a bowl that is simple to use bychildren, invalids, and other users with reduced capacity.

SUMMARY

The present invention allows an individual to successfully walk with abowl of liquid-based food contents without having to worry aboutspilling the contents of the bowl. Additionally, the bowl may come in alarger size in order to serve as a mixing bowl for contents containingliquids and/or dry goods. The present invention may advantageouslyprovide a spill resistant bowl as a single bowl configuration. In anembodiment, the bowl of the present invention may resemble a standard,commonplace bowl. However, the bowl the present invention includes anannular lip around its top rim, which may smoothly extend over a portionof the bowl just before sloping slightly downward. The bowl may alsoinclude one or more handles along the wall of the bowl. The lip mayserve as a spill resistant shield in which a liquid, dry good, orcombination of liquids and dry goods, such as cold cereal and milk, mayrise up the sidewall the bowl and be redirected to the center of thebowl, effectively rejoining the food contents in the bowl. The foodcontents may be directed by the aforementioned lip. The handles mayallow the user to effectively transport the bowl and its contents fromone location to another with a low likelihood of spilling any of thefood contents included within the bowl.

The present invention advantageously provides a bowl that effectivelyreduces or prevents spillage of liquid contents. The present inventionadvantageously provides a bowl that is easy to handle by a user.Additionally, in an embodiment of the present invention advantageously,a bowl may be provided that is simple to use by children, invalids, andother users with reduce capacity.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a spill resistantbowl is provided having a base, a wall, a rim, and a lip. The wall mayextend upwardly from the base. The wall may be substantially seamless.The rim of the wall may be located at a distal end of the wall from thebase. The rim may form a perimeter around an opening to an interiorspace of the bowl. The lip may be attached to the rim and extendinwardly toward a center of the bowl. The lip may cover at least aportion of the opening. The lip may reduce a likelihood of spillage ofcontents held in the interior space.

In another aspect, at least part of the lip may extend inwardly andupwardly approximately toward the center of the bowl.

In another aspect, at least part of the lip may extend inwardly anddownwardly toward the center of the bowl.

In another aspect, the lip may include a first lip portion adjacent tothe rim and a distal second lip portion. The first lip portion mayextend from the rim upwardly. The second lip portion may extend from thefirst lip portion downwardly.

In another aspect, the bowl may further include a handle.

In another aspect, the handle may be approximately planar with the wall,the handle being defined via a recessed portion of the wall.

In another aspect, the handle may extend outwardly from the wall.

In another aspect, the rim may have a rim perimeter that is larger thana base perimeter of the base. The wall may progressively widen from thebase to the rim.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a spill resistantbowl is provided with a base, wall, rim, opening, and lip. The base maybe defined by a base perimeter. The wall may extend upwardly from thebase. The rim may be defined by a rim perimeter, the rim being locatedat a distal end of the wall from the base. The opening to an interiorspace of the bowl may be substantially surrounded by the rim. The lipmay include a first lip portion attached to the rim and a distal secondlip portion. The first lip portion may extend from the rim upwardly. Thesecond lip portion may extend from the first lip portion downwardly. Thelip may cover at least a portion of the opening. The lip may reduce alikelihood of spillage of contents held in the interior space.

In another aspect, the bowl may further include a handle.

In another aspect, the handle may be approximately planar with the wall.The handle may be defined via a recessed portion of the wall.

In another aspect, the handle may extend outwardly from the wall.

In another aspect, the rim perimeter is larger than the base perimeter.The wall may progressively widen from the base to the rim.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a spill resistantbowl is provided having a base, wall, rim, lip, and handle. The wall mayextend upwardly from the base, the wall being substantially seamless.The rim of the wall may be located at a distal end of the wall from thebase, the rim forming a perimeter around an opening to an interior spaceof the bowl. The lip may be attached to the rim and extending inwardlytoward a center of the bowl, the lip covering at least a portion of theopening. The lip may reduce a likelihood of spillage of contents held inthe interior space.

In another aspect, at least part of the lip extends inwardly andupwardly approximately toward the center of the bowl.

In another aspect, at least a part of the lip extends inwardly anddownwardly toward the center of the bowl.

In another aspect, the lip includes a first lip portion adjacent to therim and a distal second lip portion. The first lip portion extends fromthe rim upwardly. The second lip portion extends from the first lipportion downwardly.

In another aspect, the rim has a rim perimeter that is larger than abase perimeter of the base. The wall progressively widens from the baseto the rim.

In another aspect, the handle is approximately planar with the wall, thehandle being defined via a recessed portion of the wall.

In another aspect, the handle extends outwardly from the wall.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the samemeaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art towhich this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar orequivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice ortesting of the present invention, suitable methods and materials aredescribed below. In the case of conflict, the present specification,including definitions will control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 are illustrative examples of bowls of the prior art.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a spill resistant bowl, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of a spill resistant bowl, according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a spill resistant bowl, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side cutaway view of the spill resistant bowl of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the spill resistant bowl with ahandle, according to an alternative embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is best understood by reference to the detaileddrawings and description set forth herein. Embodiments of the inventionare discussed below with reference to the drawings; however, thoseskilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed descriptiongiven herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposesas the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments. For example,in light of the teachings of the present invention, those skilled in theart will recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches,depending upon the needs of the particular application, to implement thefunctionality of any given detail described herein beyond the particularimplementation choices in the following embodiments described and shown.That is, numerous modifications and variations of the invention mayexist that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit within thescope of the invention. Also, singular words should be read as pluraland vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa, whereappropriate, and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply thatthe two are mutually exclusive.

The present invention should not be limited to the particularmethodology, compounds, materials, manufacturing techniques, uses, andapplications, described herein, as these may vary. The terminology usedherein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodimentsonly, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,”and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “an element” is areference to one or more elements and includes equivalents thereof knownto those skilled in the art. Similarly, for another example, a referenceto “a step” or “a means” may be a reference to one or more steps ormeans and may include sub-steps and subservient means.

All conjunctions used herein are to be understood in the most inclusivesense possible. Thus, a group of items linked with the conjunction “and”should not be read as requiring that each and every one of those itemsbe present in the grouping, but rather should be read as “and/or” unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Similarly, a group of items linked with theconjunction “or” should not be read as requiring mutual exclusivityamong that group, but rather should be read as “and/or” unless expresslystated otherwise. Structures described herein are to be understood alsoto refer to functional equivalents of such structures. Language that maybe construed to express approximation should be so understood unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) are to be given their ordinary and customary meaning to a personof ordinary skill in the art, and are not to be limited to a special orcustomized meaning unless expressly so defined herein.

Terms and phrases used in this application, and variations thereof,especially in the appended claims, unless otherwise expressly stated,should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples ofthe foregoing, the term “including” should be read to mean “including,without limitation,” “including but not limited to,” or the like; theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least”; the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to”;the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item indiscussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; and use of termslike “preferably,” “preferred,” “desired,” “desirable,” or “exemplary”and words of similar meaning should not be understood as implying thatcertain features are critical, essential, or even important to thestructure or function of the invention, but instead as merely intendedto highlight alternative or additional features that may or may not beutilized in a particular embodiment of the invention.

Those skilled in the art will also understand that if a specific numberof an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will beexplicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitationno such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, theappended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at leastone” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations; however, the useof such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introductionof a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits anyparticular claim containing such introduced claim recitation toembodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the sameclaim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one”and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and “an” shouldtypically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); thesame holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claimrecitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introducedclaim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art willrecognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to meanat least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “tworecitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least tworecitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in thoseinstances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C”is used, in general, such a construction is intended in the sense onehaving skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a systemhaving at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited tosystems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and Ctogether, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.).

All numbers expressing dimensions, quantities of ingredients, reactionconditions, and so forth used in the specification are to be understoodas being modified in all instances by the term “about” unless expresslystated otherwise. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, thenumerical parameters set forth herein are approximations that may varydepending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained.

The bowl provided by various embodiments of the present inventionovercomes the problems and limitations of the attempted solutions in theprior art, some of which being illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. Referring toFIGS. 4-8, the spill resistant bowl of the present invention will now bediscussed. The invention provides a spill resistant bowl 10 thatincludes a base 30, a wall 15, an opening 40, a rim 20, and a lip 25.The bowl 10 may include one or more handles 60, which may be positionedon the wall 15. The handles 60 may be located at a recessed portion 70of the wall 15. The bowl 10 may advantageously reduce or eliminatespillage of contents included by the bowl as the bowl is handled ormoved. Alternatively, the handles 60 may extend outwardly from the wall15.

The present invention provides a spill resistant bowl 10 that may serveas a single serving eating bowl, a mixing bowl, or another function,depending on the size and composition of its manufacture. Skilledartisans will appreciate the size may be scaled depending on theintended use of the bowl 10. Similarly, materials used to manufacturethe bowl 10 may be selected depending on the desired use or constructionof the bowl 10.

Additionally, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thebowl may be formed using injection molding, blow molding, or anothermolding technique that would be apparent to a skilled artisan. If blowmolding is used, at least a portion of the interior space may be removedfrom the bowl formed via the blow molding process. If injection moldingis used, the lip may be subsequently bended and/or positioned into thedesired location via heat forming.

The bowl 10 may include a base 30. The base 30 may be located near thebottom of the bowl 10. The base 30 may interface with the supportingsurface, such as a countertop or table. The base 30 may be acircumferential flat area at the bottom of the bowl 10, withoutlimitation. Flatness of the base 30 may allow the bowl 10 to sit on thesupporting surface with minimal rocking or swaying.

The bowl 10 may also include a wall 15. In an embodiment where the bowl10 is round, the wall 15 may continuously circle the interior space 50included by the base 30 and the wall 15. In additional embodiments,where the bowl 10 includes multiple sides, a wall 15 may be located ateach of the sides, without limitation. A rim 20 may be located at thetop of the bowl 10, which may be a distal end of the wall 15 from thebase 30. The rim 20 of may include a spill resistant food contentredirection lip 25. In one embodiment, the wall may be substantiallyand/or entirely seamless. The base 30 may be defined by a base perimeterand the rim 20 may be defined by a rim perimeter. In one embodiment, therim perimeter may be larger than the base perimeter. The wall mayprogressively widen from the base to the rim. However, skilled artisanswill appreciate additional embodiments where the base perimeter and rimperimeter may be substantially the same or have a differentconfiguration.

In one example, illustrated in FIG. 7, the lip 25 may protrude from therim 20 of the bowl 10 and extend inwardly towards an interior space 50of the bowl 10. The lip may include a first lip portion and a second lipportion. The first portion of the lip 25 may extend upwardly toward thecenter 55 of the bowl 10. As the lip 25 continues to extend to thecenter 55 of the bowl 10, the second portion of the lip 25 may graduallybegin extending downwardly and partially toward the interior space 50 ofthe bowl 10. By providing a lip 25 in this configuration, the contentsof the bowl 10 may be directed back into its interior space 50 ratherthan being allowed to exit the bowl 10 over the rim 20. Thisconfiguration advantageously minimizes or prevents a likelihood ofspillage the contents of bowl 10, which may include any liquid, solid,or other food held within the bowl 10.

The bowl 10 of the present invention may be manufactured in virtuallyany size and with various materials. For example, the bowl 10 may bemanufactured on a smaller scale to serve the needs of a user looking toserve a single serving of food. Here, the bowl 10 may be used to includea food item such as cereal, soup, or other liquid-based foods.Additionally, the bowl 10 may be manufactured on a larger scale. Forexample, the bowl 10 may be configured with the size facilitating itsuse as a mixing bowl. The bowl 10 may be constructed using plastic,glass, aluminum, wood, or virtually any other material that may meet theneeds of a user of the bowl 10.

The lip 25 may be configured to have a size such that installment doesnot interfere with the use of the bowl 10, for example, eating from abowl. Additionally, angling of the lip 25 facilitates cleaning of thebowl 10. The angle of the lip 25, which may be gradual, may provide theuser with ample room to clean the bowl 10 as one would normally withouthaving to worry that the food may be stuck within the curved portionsand/or undersides of the lip 25 or the location where the lip meets therim 20 of the wall 15.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the bowl 10 may include oneor more handles 60. The following example will be discussed in thecontext of the bowl 10 having two handles 60 Skilled artisans willappreciate that this example is not intended to limit the presentinvention in any way, as the bowl may include a greater or lesser numberof handles consistent with the scope and spirit of the presentinvention. In the example wherein the bowl 10 includes two handles 60,each of the handles 60 may be located on complementary sides of eachother. The handles 60 may facilitate transportation of the bowl 10without spilling any of the contents held within the bowl 10. Theaforementioned handles 60 may be especially useful to children, who maynot be able to balance a round bowl in their hands without dropping itand, in the process, effectively spilling its contents. The handles 60may also be beneficial to handicapped individuals that may not have theability to control their movements and, thus, accidentally drop thebowl.

In one example, a handle 60 may protrude outwardly from the wall 15 ofthe bowl 10. In another example, a handle 60 may substantially encirclethe perimeter of the bowl, which may provide a large single handle. Inyet another example, the handle 60 may be formed by indenting at least aportion of the wall 15 into the interior space 50 of the bowl 10,creating a recessed portion 70. The recessed portion 70 is illustratedin FIGS. 4-5. In this embodiment, each handle 60 may be housed in a unitwith the recessed portion 70 that is recessed into the bowl 10. Thehandles 60 may be an extension of the sidewall 15 the bowl 10. Thehandle 60 may be rounded and may be an approximate continuation of thewall 15 of the bowl 10, being accessible via the recessed portion 70Skilled artisans will appreciate additional configurations of the bowlhaving handles, for example, extending outwardly from the wall.

In operation, the bowl may be used to hold and transport a food productwith minimum spillage. The specific application of the bowl may dependon the size and shape of the bowl. For example, if the bowl ismanufactured with the size optimized for a single serving of food, auser may simply pour the desired food contents into the bowl, transportthe bowl as necessary, and consume the contents located within theinterior space of the bowl. In another example, if the bowl ismanufactured with the size optimized for mixing bowl, the user maysimply pour the food contents into the bowl, transport the bowl asnecessary, and mix the contents held within the interior space of thebowl.

After the bowl has been used, it may be easily cleaned due to itsadvantageous configuration. Since the bowl may be constructedsubstantially as a single unit, the effort required to clean the bowlmay be reduced as compared with the effort required to clean a bowlhaving a conventional design.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

It is to be understood that while the invention has been described inconjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoingdescription is intended to illustrate and not limit the scope of theinvention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims. Otheraspects, advantages, and modifications are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A spill resistant bowl comprising: a base; a wallextending upwardly from the base, the wall being substantially seamless;a rim of the wall located at a distal end of the wall from the base, therim forming a perimeter around an opening to an interior space of thebowl; a lip attached to the rim and extending inwardly toward a centerof the bowl, the lip covering at least a portion of the opening; whereinthe lip reduces a likelihood of spillage of contents held in theinterior space.
 2. The bowl of claim 1, wherein at least part of the lipextends inwardly and upwardly approximately toward the center of thebowl.
 3. The bowl of claim 1, wherein at least part of the lip extendsinwardly and downwardly toward the center of the bowl.
 4. The bowl ofclaim 1, wherein the lip comprises a first lip portion adjacent to therim and a distal second lip portion, wherein the first lip portionextends from the rim upwardly, and wherein the second lip portionextends from the first lip portion downwardly.
 5. The bowl of claim 1,further comprising a handle.
 6. The bowl of claim 5, wherein the handleis approximately planar with the wall, the handle being defined via arecessed portion of the wall.
 7. The bowl of claim 5, wherein the handleextends outwardly from the wall.
 8. The bowl of claim 1, wherein the rimhas a rim perimeter that is larger than a base perimeter of the base,and wherein the wall progressively widens from the base to the rim.
 9. Aspill resistant bowl comprising: a base defined by a base perimeter; awall extending upwardly from the base; a rim defined by a rim perimeter,the rim being located at a distal end of the wall from the base; anopening to an interior space of the bowl substantially surrounded by therim; a lip comprising a first lip portion attached to the rim and adistal second lip portion, the first lip portion extending from the rimupwardly, and the second lip portion extending from the first lipportion downwardly; wherein the lip covers at least a portion of theopening; wherein the lip reduces a likelihood of spillage of contentsheld in the interior space.
 10. The bowl of claim 9, further comprisinga handle.
 11. The bowl of claim 10, wherein the handle is approximatelyplanar with the wall, the handle being defined via a recessed portion ofthe wall.
 12. The bowl of claim 10, wherein the handle extends outwardlyfrom the wall.
 13. The bowl of claim 9, wherein the rim perimeter islarger than the base perimeter, and wherein the wall progressivelywidens from the base to the rim.
 14. A spill resistant bowl comprising:a base; a wall extending upwardly from the base, the wall beingsubstantially seamless; a rim of the wall located at a distal end of thewall from the base, the rim forming a perimeter around an opening to aninterior space of the bowl; a lip attached to the rim and extendinginwardly toward a center of the bowl, the lip covering at least aportion of the opening; a handle; wherein the lip reduces a likelihoodof spillage of contents held in the interior space; wherein the bowl iscleanable.
 15. The bowl of claim 14, wherein at least part of the lipextends inwardly and upwardly approximately toward the center of thebowl.
 16. The bowl of claim 14, wherein at least a part of the lipextends inwardly and downwardly toward the center of the bowl.
 17. Thebowl of claim 14, wherein the lip comprises a first lip portion adjacentto the rim and a distal second lip portion, wherein the first lipportion extends from the rim upwardly, and wherein the second lipportion extends from the first lip portion downwardly.
 18. The bowl ofclaim 14, wherein the rim has a rim perimeter that is larger than a baseperimeter of the base, and wherein the wall progressively widens fromthe base to the rim.
 19. The bowl of claim 14, wherein the handle isapproximately planar with the wall, the handle being defined via arecessed portion of the wall.
 20. The bowl of claim 14, wherein thehandle extends outwardly from the wall.